jclvd_23 wrote:Was thinking about picking up a bottle of Stone's Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout tomorrow. Anyone had it and is it worth the price for a 12 oz bottle?

Its different, but outstanding IMHO. I can't imagine a stout fan not liking this beer, and the mint doesn't overpower it in the least. To me, its almost too understated where you only get the mint hint on the back. Lots of roasty coffee/dark chocolate flavors up front.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

jjgmyers wrote:Yeah, I've heard the same story. We just got 10 cases in of the thirsty dog. Too much beer and too little cash.

Tim Rastetter is the current brewmaster at Thirsty Dog but for a long time held the same position at GLBC. He and Andy Tveekrem (who is now brewmaster for Market Garden and Nano both on W25th and was formerly brewmaster at Dogfish Head) were instrumental in getting GLBC to where they are today. Tim did keep the recipe, and my guess is that he probably did give it to Luke (Luke Percell is the current brewer at GLBC) but Luke likes to keep his own spin on things. Personally, I don't think bottled TD vs GLBC are a whole lot different this year (or the last 2 for that matter). I think the variances in tastes people are getting are due entirely to the draught system at whatever bar they are drinking at. Ever notice how different Bud/Miller/Coors can taste from place to place? No different for craft beer.

BTW - if you can find the magnum bottles of it or on draught, make an effort to get some Bourbon Barrel Aged Thirsty Dog Xmas. Had it for the 1st time last year and its ridiculous. Heinens will probably have large supplies of it over the next month or so.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

jclvd_23 wrote:Was thinking about picking up a bottle of Stone's Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout tomorrow. Anyone had it and is it worth the price for a 12 oz bottle?

Its different, but outstanding IMHO. I can't imagine a stout fan not liking this beer, and the mint doesn't overpower it in the least. To me, its almost too understated where you only get the mint hint on the back. Lots of roasty coffee/dark chocolate flavors up front.

IDK, I'm not a big fan of the winter whites, and so I haven't had one in a few years.

Sam Adams for me has always been kind of meh. I drink it when there is a lack of a more preferable option. Bells has a winter warmer that might be a similar better option. I think we need a RNE ruling on this one.

Are we talking the regular Sam Adams White Ale or the Imperial White? Winter White is meh and the Imperial is good (but does have a bit of an unpleasent aftertaste) but neither can hold a candle to Bells which IMO, is the best winter white out there aside from Allagash. Bells beers are really hit or miss for me and the winter white kills it. On draught tastes like a crazy blend of Franziskaner and Hoegaarden. While on the subject, Allagash White out of Maine is easily the best witbier period, though they don't ship to Ohio anymore. A few fine ones that are available here are St. Bernardus and Hitachino Nest White Ale.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

I was surprised this weekend that I found not one, but two, local places that had 12 Dogs on tap in Delaware, OH. The owner at one place told me he could only get 1 keg worth so it will be gone quickly.

RickNashEquilibrium wrote:Are we talking the regular Sam Adams White Ale or the Imperial White? Winter White is meh and the Imperial is good (but does have a bit of an unpleasent aftertaste) but neither can hold a candle to Bells which IMO, is the best winter white out there aside from Allagash. Bells beers are really hit or miss for me and the winter white kills it. On draught tastes like a crazy blend of Franziskaner and Hoegaarden. While on the subject, Allagash White out of Maine is easily the best witbier period, though they don't ship to Ohio anymore. A few fine ones that are available here are St. Bernardus and Hitachino Nest White Ale.

I almost hired a translator to read that, lol.

Regular White Xmas from Sam Adams.

Criminals in this town used to believe in things...honor, respect."I heard your dog is sick, so bought you this shovel"

Save-on at 306 and 20 in Mentor had a Christmas ale tasting last night and boy was it good. Here's a review of each that were available. If some of you want to drink with me in person, they will have another tasting next Thursday from 5pm to 9pm. The line up will be Belgian style xmas ales. If my dad joins me again, we plan on going to the new Melt at Points East afterwards. Shit even if he doesn't Ill probably go anyways.

Alesmith Yuletide Winter - poors the color of DFH 90 minute. Smells of rich west coast hops - piney, with a bit of citrus. Mouthfeel is exactly that of a west coast double IPA but not as resiny. Quite smooth with hops up front but good spice and malt backbone on the back which was really surprising. If you're an IPA fan, this is one to try.

Troegs Mad Elf - What can I say. This one is a classic. Big on cherries, huge on booze factor (11.2%). Seems a bit more carbonated than years past and a bit sweeter and less vinous than last year. Definitely better than I remember it. The high ABV is undetectable both in smell and on the palate. If you want to pass out on the pool table on Xmas Eve, this is your beer.

Frosted Frog Frosted Christmas - Just as good as last year. Pours almost a bourbon color, slightly darker. Lots of gingerbread and allspice on the nose, very little detection of hops. Flavor is quite bold but does not linger on the palate like lots of other heavily spiced beers. Can't really compare it to any other beer - maybe a jacked up version of Corsendonk but a bit sweeter. Great mouthfeel and highly drinkable at 8.6%.

Barrel Aged Frosted Frog - Hoppin' Frog nails it again. They took normal Frosted Christmas and barrel aged it for 6 months to a year in bourbon barrels. The bourbon doesnt really shine in this beer, but is used to smooth out the flavor and add more sweetness and richness to the beer. Its completely different than regular Frosted Christmas. Darker, bigget hits of cinnamon and I definitely got some weird vanilla/apple notes going on. Haven't had a beer like it. Also 8.6% so very drinkable, highly recommended.

Anchorage Whiteout Wit - IMO the highlight of the night. I love lambics and gueuzes and this beer is a strange yet amazing mix. Anchorage started shipping to Ohio recently so this is the first I've tried from them. Whiteout is a winter white ale but brewed with Sorachi Ace hops (which are awesome when used correctly) then aged in French Chardonnay barrels then brettanomyces are added to impart funk. I can't really describe this beer except to say you get some lemon peel up front, that nice coriander/orange citrus flavor from the yeast, and a sour finish from the bretts. Like nothing Ive ever had. Highly recommended if you are a fan of white/wheat beers and not afraid to delve into sours.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

I'm gonna try a new beer each week for a year, at least I'm gonna try to try a new beer each week. I'll be open to suggestions, and you know what I've been drinking for awhile so if you can help me transition nice and slow it would be appreciated.

Any suggestions RNE?

Criminals in this town used to believe in things...honor, respect."I heard your dog is sick, so bought you this shovel"

FUDU wrote:I'm gonna try a new beer each week for a year, at least I'm gonna try to try a new beer each week. I'll be open to suggestions, and you know what I've been drinking for awhile so if you can help me transition nice and slow it would be appreciated.

Any suggestions RNE?

Just do this for 2013. Seriously - there is no better way. Plus you'll get a jacket that doesn't have some type of NASCAR or MOPAR patch on it, like the ones you normally wear.

You can expand your beer knowledge and upgrade your wardrobe at the same time.

I agree with Matt - the Winking Lizard tour is a great place to start. You get great collectables during the year and it forces you to try new things to finish. Also, if you get a beer that isn't your style, you can always share with friends. A friend of mine actual splits this tour with his wife each year.

Personally, with all the beer stores in NEO, I like venturing out and talking to the people who run the businesses. Get lots of information in terms of what distributors are putting on trucks and why certain selections are available at some stores and not others. Places like Save-On in Mentor also do not mark up their beer when you buy individual bottles and that's one of the biggest draws. I can do the Winking Lizard tour at probably 1/4th of the cost by getting beers at the store.

FYI - my brother and I have decided to finally start craft brewing. We're at the point were we spend too much money going out as well as trading with people around the country. Its fun, but the $$$ add up to amounts you wouldn't believe. He moved in with his GF over the summer and she has a nice side shed in her back yard which she doesn't use. We plan on gutting it and start brewing sometime in the spring. Time to see if our opposite yet equal skills in the kitchen will translate to some inspiring beer creation. I am pumped.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

For all the northeast Ohio homebrewers here at TCF, what places could you suggest buying new equipment for brewing? Might as well start pricing this stuff out now so my bro and I can get an idea on cost. I know there is Brewmentor in Mentor and TBK in Strongsville......

FYI - we will be jumping right into the thick of it by doing all-grain beers rather than using malt extracts and whatnot. Dad is a chemist by trade so this is going to be a threeheaded monster of an operation.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

Umm....almost all bombers are technically wine bottles??? Its still delicious, and this years Delerium Noel and St Bernardus Xmas a fucking solid. I won a ton at the Horseshoe today playing Pai Gow and have stocked my 'rents, brother and my coffers of beer and wine to last us at least 5 days.

#winning#firstworldproblems

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

Just picked up 2 sixes of Christmas Ale last night. A local drive thru beer store has 3 locations in my town. Apparently all of their x-mas ale order gets sent to just one location. The beer clientele are not really micro brew drinkers. There are still 2 cases remaining and I have been buying 6 or 12 weekly for the last month.

Also had on draft the other night Mt. Carmel Obsidian Black Rye IPA. 8.5% ABV This is a really interesting tasting beer. Very hoppy up front with a malty carmel finish. And I got three pints free along with free wood fired pizza cuz my wife was partnering with this restaurant to have a Family Literacy Night for which she provided free books.

Does this mean the end of Lake Erie Monster? To be honest, I'm not sure I can tell the difference without having them side by side. I'm not convinced there's any difference between a double IPA and an Imperial IPA other than the brewer's preference in naming.

Second the vote for Hoppin Frog. Try the "Boris the Crusher" Imperial Stout. For a little Akron brewery, they are really on the rise of late. I can find them in quite a few pubs in Chicago now. High, high quality stuff.

Hoppin Frog is making some great stuff. Expensive, but when a brewery who rarely ships kegs for bar/restaurant distribution ends up having successful markets in Chicago, Germany and Belgium, you know they're doing something special. EW - did you have the regular Frosted Frog or Barrel Aged? If you have a chance pick up the barrel aged you won't be disappointed.

MS - I don't think this is the end of LEM. I haven't had Alchemy Hour but the site says its brewed with Mosaic and Nugget Hops which to me sounds like a winner. Mosaic hops are relatively new to the brewing scene and are a child of Simcoe hops. Did some digging and multiple folks described Mosaic as Citra hops on steroids. Not my cup of tea, but I'll try anything once. LEM is made with Simcoe and Willamette so there are probably similarities with LEM being a bit "fruitier". Also, 99% Double IPA is the same as Imperial IPA, its just a naming preference.

Peeker - Unibroue is one of my favorites. Master of the Belgian style while being tucked away in the netheregions of Quebec. Your picture didn't post - what beer did you have? Le Fin du Monde is great and Don de Dieu is my favorite. If you have a chance try Raftman. Its a belgian pale ale brewed with smoked whisky malts. Mmmmmmm.....

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

I had the "Terrible". Very good, unique. Seems like most of their stuff I've tried is 'extra' carbonated or at least has that taste. And it's like 11.5% so it ain't something you're going to hammer away at all night.

I just got news Great Lakes will be bottling and distributing Rye of the Tiger IPA come April. Fucking awesome. Anyone ever have it at the brewpub? It has has gotten accolades for years at the Great American Beer Fest. Cannot wait, will probably be my spring/summer go-to other than my German favorites.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

For anyone in the Mentor area, I have good news. Wally at Save-On at 306/20 finally finished installing his tap system. He is currently rotating 6 taps and growlers are the cheapest around compared to Heinens, Rozi's and WBC. Great selection too. I picked up a growler of Founders Imperial Stout and it was only $11.99 plus the one time cost of a growler ($9.99?). He and I were talking business a few weeks back and he wanted my input of expanding to 24-30 taps. I told him there is a market for it but not at that location. I get the feeling he might be expanding or venturing out into the bar business. Stay tuned.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

RickNashEquilibrium wrote:For anyone in the Mentor area, I have good news. Wally at Save-On at 306/20 finally finished installing his tap system. He is currently rotating 6 taps and growlers are the cheapest around compared to Heinens, Rozi's and WBC. Great selection too. I picked up a growler of Founders Imperial Stout and it was only $11.99 plus the one time cost of a growler ($9.99?). He and I were talking business a few weeks back and he wanted my input of expanding to 24-30 taps. I told him there is a market for it but not at that location. I get the feeling he might be expanding or venturing out into the bar business. Stay tuned.

Can you take any growler in or do you need to buy theirs the first time?

RickNashEquilibrium wrote:For anyone in the Mentor area, I have good news. Wally at Save-On at 306/20 finally finished installing his tap system. He is currently rotating 6 taps and growlers are the cheapest around compared to Heinens, Rozi's and WBC. Great selection too. I picked up a growler of Founders Imperial Stout and it was only $11.99 plus the one time cost of a growler ($9.99?). He and I were talking business a few weeks back and he wanted my input of expanding to 24-30 taps. I told him there is a market for it but not at that location. I get the feeling he might be expanding or venturing out into the bar business. Stay tuned.

Can you take any growler in or do you need to buy theirs the first time?

Great question. I'll stop by this week and ask then post the results. I can't imagine Wally or Sammy turning down business if you bring your own growler. Get this - he's buying half barrel kegs for that place (rather than the normal cylinder 1/6th kegs) and he's still turning them over in a few weeks.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

My wife is on vacation in Kenosha, Wi to visit her sister, and she left me home with our two kids. I told her she'd have my blessing to fly up, if she agreed to bring me back a 6 pack or two...seems only fair, right?

We live in Gainesville, FL so we don't have any access to beers from Great Lakes/Founders/or anything similar in the midwest.

Was just wondering if anyone living in the area had any suggestions. I'm mostly into Imperial Red's, IPA, Double IPA's, and Stouts. I was thinking about going with what i know I like (Commodore Perry/Burning River), but thought I'd ask in case there was something that would be a must have or something that was seasonal I wasn't aware of.

jclvd_23 wrote:My wife is on vacation in Kenosha, Wi to visit her sister, and she left me home with our two kids. I told her she'd have my blessing to fly up, if she agreed to bring me back a 6 pack or two...seems only fair, right?

We live in Gainesville, FL so we don't have any access to beers from Great Lakes/Founders/or anything similar in the midwest.

Was just wondering if anyone living in the area had any suggestions. I'm mostly into Imperial Red's, IPA, Double IPA's, and Stouts. I was thinking about going with what i know I like (Commodore Perry/Burning River), but thought I'd ask in case there was something that would be a must have or something that was seasonal I wasn't aware of.

jclvd_23 wrote:My wife is on vacation in Kenosha, Wi to visit her sister, and she left me home with our two kids. I told her she'd have my blessing to fly up, if she agreed to bring me back a 6 pack or two...seems only fair, right?

We live in Gainesville, FL so we don't have any access to beers from Great Lakes/Founders/or anything similar in the midwest.

Was just wondering if anyone living in the area had any suggestions. I'm mostly into Imperial Red's, IPA, Double IPA's, and Stouts. I was thinking about going with what i know I like (Commodore Perry/Burning River), but thought I'd ask in case there was something that would be a must have or something that was seasonal I wasn't aware of.

Founder's Breakfast Stout is one of my favorites.

Is it still available? I was thinking it was seasonal and most places would be sold out. If it's in, it's definitely going to the top of the list.

jclvd_23 wrote:My wife is on vacation in Kenosha, Wi to visit her sister, and she left me home with our two kids. I told her she'd have my blessing to fly up, if she agreed to bring me back a 6 pack or two...seems only fair, right?

We live in Gainesville, FL so we don't have any access to beers from Great Lakes/Founders/or anything similar in the midwest.

Was just wondering if anyone living in the area had any suggestions. I'm mostly into Imperial Red's, IPA, Double IPA's, and Stouts. I was thinking about going with what i know I like (Commodore Perry/Burning River), but thought I'd ask in case there was something that would be a must have or something that was seasonal I wasn't aware of.

Founder's Breakfast Stout is one of my favorites.

Is it still available? I was thinking it was seasonal and most places would be sold out. If it's in, it's definitely going to the top of the list.

As for the seasonal/late winter brews released about this time, here's a few:

Troegs Nugget Nectar - Imperial Red Ale, one of the best red/amber ales out there although the style isn't one of my go-to's

Ayinger Weizenbock - my favorite beer also my profile pic. Weizenbocks are exactly that, stronger versions of a dunkel which is a dark wheat beer made from different malts/grains/yeast than a normal wheat. Sweet, esthery, complex

Finally took up my brother's offer to go to Lizardville in Bedford and holy shit is the place amazing. 800+ beers with a lot of choices even I have not heard of. All the beer is separated by type rather than brewery which makes things easy to find. They do bottle and insta-cool service for $1.50 if you want to enjoy at the bar plus they have 8 or so taps of quality, hard to get items. They also have 240 different bottles of whisky/bourbon/scotch which is all the better. As for the beers, grab a bottle of these if you can.

EvilTwin Imperial Biscotti Stout - Super smooth, tons of chocolate/malt flavor with no hint of alcohol heat (11% ABV). One of the best feeling beers on the palette ever. IMO a step change better than Founders Breakfast Stout and Founders KBS. Also, unbeknownst to me the brewer is Dutch Brewer Mikkeller's twin brother.

Liefmans Goudenband - A dark sour ale. Over ripe fruit is a plenty in this one and comes in at 8% ABV which is potent for a sour. One of the best I've had of this style.

Brouwerij Oud Beersel - Oude Gueuze Vielle 2011 - Smells like a barnyard filled with sour apples and this is supposed to be a compliment. Taste completely different than the smell. Sour, but as much as other gueuze/lambics with a mix of raspberry/apple/pear flavor on the back. Amazingly drinkable and relatively cheap ($6.89 for 375 mL). Not for everyone, the nose can be a bit offputting but if you like this style or are adventurous give it a shot you won't be disappointed.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

Holy shit, no idea how I haven't had this from my 2nd favorite German brewery. The quintessential spring/summer beer. Get some! Its technically a wheat beer, but it has a really clean, somewhat hoppy finish. Its like a mix of a hefeweizen (but not too sweet) and a German Pilsner.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.